Visit of the Prince of Wales, President Buchanan, and Dignitaries to the Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, October 1860
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Harriet Lane Johnston
Accession Number
1906.9.18
Tags
politicalFigure groupUnited StatesWashingtonpresidentPortrait male
About this artwork
In 1860, the nineteen-year-old Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) visited the tomb of the man who had led the Continental Army to victory over the forces of Great Britain in the American Revolution. Demonstrating the renewed harmony between the two nations, President James Buchanan stands beside the heir to the British throne as he pays his respects at this American shrine. The clouds above the assembled crowd of dignitaries take the form of George Washington's profile.